Fellow BP member DonoBBD if I recall has emerald shiners in a pond in Ontario, Canada (big province so not sure how far North or South he is compared to others here) But he did have large volume of waterfall water flowing into his pond all the time. He hasn't posted in quite some time so may not be around anymore but his setup may allow for the possibility of successful reproduction. There probably are other factors related to water quality, chemistry, soil or rock substrate and water temperature that need to be considered as well.
There is way more that we have to learn yet. Fellow PB member from Michigan has high density of SMB and closely packed spawning beds with very successful growth of the progeny. What unique air, soil, water quality, or chemistry factor makes the SMB in his ponds forget their 'evolution' and start behaving like they think they are bluegill?
it is a privilege that we have ponds to observe and freedom to think outside of the box and actually do our own testing without too much regulation or supervision. If you have access FishinRod to various shiner species and have test tanks or ponds what is the harm to try to set up some experiments? All you can do is learn what doesn't work or if something does work, try to repeat your success in a larger trial and share the results with others.
